


Night of the Lilies

by AuroraBorealia, LadyNorbert



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: Canon Compliant, Circle of Magi, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Male-Female Friendship, Originally Posted Elsewhere, Post-All That Remains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 20:05:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15826014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraBorealia/pseuds/AuroraBorealia, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyNorbert/pseuds/LadyNorbert
Summary: The night that Hawke defeated Quentin, she is comforted by a visit from her love interest. In the days to come, she'll be able to lean on her closest friends for support and consolation. But what about her little sister, alone in the Circle of Magi? One very determined dwarf bullies his way into the Gallows to try to remind her that they're with her too.





	Night of the Lilies

**Author's Note:**

> Hey friends, this may look familiar to some of you. It was originally posted on Tumblr in 2017, as part of Bethany Hawke Appreciation Week; that took place the same time as Cullen Rutherford Appreciation Week, for some reason, and they're both in it so it was doubly appropriate.
> 
> It always bothered me that Hawke's surviving sibling, if they're still alive during "All That Remains," doesn't even get mentioned except for Gamlen to say that he'll take care of notifying them. How come the companions aren't worried about Bethany/Carver? Well, Varric's an unreliable narrator and you can't convince me that something like this didn't happen. AB and I cooked this up together, as we so often do, but I've been sitting on it for a while and today, I decided to share it with AO3.
> 
> Unlike most of my works concerning these two (who are my Dragon Age OTP), this isn't meant to be overtly shippy. It could certainly be interpreted that way, because I'm the admiral of this pool noodle, but you can interpret it as completely platonic too.

* * *

**Night of the Lilies**

* * *

 

Hawke’s friends were all still reeling from the blow of the afternoon. The death of their fearless leader’s mother hit them all hard; she had always welcomed them cordially whenever they visited the estate, even if she questioned her daughter’s taste in companions, and for her to have spent her final hours in terrified pain was not something any of them were happily contemplating.

Aveline, being something of an extended member of the Hawke family, was taking the blow harder than most. She had known Leandra longest, had shared in her grief the day both Aveline’s husband Wesley and Leandra’s son Carver met their deaths by darkspawn. She would collect herself in time and be there for Hawke, Varric knew, but for now it was best to let her mourn privately.

Fenris was with Hawke; their relationship was a curious one, and Varric himself was never quite sure what to make of it, but he knew the elf loved the rogue and was in the best place to offer her some kind of comfort. So he steered clear of the estate. No, there was someplace else he needed to be on this night.

The sun had just set when he reached the Gallows in search of Knight-Captain Cullen. Fortunately, the Templar was in his usual place, and nodded at the dwarf as he approached.

“Captain, can you spare me a minute?”

Cullen glanced around, as if to make sure all would be well if he let his guard down for a moment, then nodded once more. “Of course. How can I be of assistance?”

“Gamlen Amell - was he here today?”

The captain moistened his lips, then swallowed hard. “I’m not certain I should be telling you that…” he said cautiously.

“It’s all right, I know he was. Do you know _why_ he was here?” Varric looked up at him with determined eyes.

“I... may have heard, yes.” He sighed, shutting his eyes for a moment. “For what it’s worth, Hawke has my sympathies. You all do.”

“Thank you. Anyway, I need your help. Hawke’s got everybody else rallied around her right now, one way or another. What I need is to see Bethany.”

“Messere Tethras,” he protested, glancing around again as if worried he might get caught. “You know I can’t _._ ”

“You _have_ to.” The dwarf clenched his jaw. “You’re the only Templar around here I trust as far as I can throw him these days, and let’s face it, I can’t throw you all that far. You’re the only one who can help me pull this off - you think it’s fair to let that girl go through this _alone_ ? Andraste’s ass, Cullen, her mother’s been _murdered_.” Varric’s eyes went hard as he added, “And maybe if the Templars had taken Ser Emeric more seriously when he was trying to investigate the killer years ago, she’d still be alive.”

Cullen visibly winced, but didn’t protest. He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed the corners of his eyes roughly for several long moments before letting out a tortured sigh. “All right,” he said finally. “All right. But _no one_ can know that I’m doing this.”

“Who do you think I’m going to tell?”

“Fair point,” he muttered, then gestured for Varric to follow. “Come with me.”

Varric trailed after him into the Gallows, which he’d only had occasion to visit one other time. Cullen led him down the hallway past Meredith and Orsino’s offices to a small enclosed courtyard. Obeying the captain’s directive to wait there, he seated himself on one of the benches, staring up at the night sky. He had no idea what he was going to say to Bethany; he just couldn’t stand the idea of her suffering in solitude.

She emerged with Cullen several minutes later, walking as if she had forgotten how to do so. Her eyes were slightly downcast, but in the moonlight it was easy to see they were puffy and red-rimmed. Cullen gave her shoulder a tiny pat and said something to her. She nodded, looked up, and the minute she saw Varric, stumbled towards him as quickly as she could.

“There’s my Sunshine,” he managed, getting to his feet and catching her gently. “Oh... oh, I know…”

Bethany _had_ been convinced that all her tears had already been shed - but as she all but fell into his embrace, she immediately began to sob all over again. She buried her face in his shoulder to hide the sound, grateful for the support of his arms. His grip was the only thing keeping her upright.

Varric sank back onto the stone bench, still cradling her as he did. “I know,” he said again, letting her clutch at his old beaten duster and weep into his silk shirt. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” One gloved hand nested itself tenderly in her hair. He didn’t know what to do, other than to hold her, but maybe that was all she really needed.

She cried for several more minutes while Cullen stood off to the side, staring ahead and trying not to listen. He wasn’t doing a very good job of it, and his features were twisted with pain. Eventually, she ran out of tears and simply rocked herself back and forth, trying to get her breathing under control. “I don’t understand,” she whispered at last. Her throat was so raw it burned to speak. “Why her? Why this? I just don’t understand.”

“Neither do I, not really.” He sighed. “Best I can offer is that the guy was a madman. I’m sorry we didn’t find her fast enough... we tried, I swear to you we tried.”

“I know you did,” she croaked. Her lip trembled and she bit down to make it stop, shaking her head. “It’s just all so senseless - first my father, then Carver, now her.”

“I know, Sunshine. I wish I could fix it for you.” He sighed again, and tightened his grip a bit. “It’s why I came... I couldn’t stand the thought of you going through this by yourself, and your sister’s too eaten up with grief and guilt to be here just now. Fenris is with her, and I’m with you, and neither of you is ever, ever alone - you hear that?”

“Yes.” She nodded, sniffling. She repositioned herself so her head was against his chest. “Thank you so much for coming. I - I don’t even have the words to tell you how much it means to me. I wish you didn’t have to go.”

“I’m not leaving yet. The captain can stew,” he muttered quietly. “I wouldn’t leave you here if I had any choice in the matter, believe me. You’d be home where you belong.”

“I know, and right now I wish I was home. But it’s not terrible here. And don’t take anything out on Cullen, he’s better than most.” She sighed and looked around the courtyard, which was washed in moonlight. “The hardest part is not knowing - not knowing what's going on with any of you. Not being able to help you.”

Varric chewed on that for a minute. “I need to write more. That’s on me and I’m sorry,” he said at length. “I’ll be better about it, I promise. I should never have let myself get so busy that I left you feeling alone. That’s no way to treat one’s own personal Sunshine,” he added, a bit more jocular.

She managed a small ghost of a smile. “No, no, you're doing all right,” she promised. “You know I'll never say no to hearing from you even more, though. I just...” She sighed. “I feel like somehow the world isn't going to stop until it's taken you all away from me... until everyone I care about is gone.”

“Sunshine, I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to keep that from happening. I can’t swear I’ll succeed, because I feel the same way sometimes and I’m terrified of losing all of you too. Especially you and your sister. But I will do my damnedest to make sure it doesn’t happen.”

She nodded at that and all but threw her arms around his neck, embracing him firmly. “I believe you,” she whispered in his ear. “I believe you can.”

He patted her back gently. “I don’t know if I deserve that kind of faith, but it’s nice to have it all the same,” he mused. “All I know is that more than ever... anything ever tries to touch you or Hawke, there will be hell to pay.”

“Thank you,” she said, and her smile became a bit more genuine, although still pained. “But please, Varric...  _please_ be careful. I’m not going to lose you too - I refuse.”

Touched, he caught her hand and pressed it. “I’ll do my best, Sunshine. I promise.”

“Good.” She seemed soothed by the assertion. “Good.” She leaned against him, her arms wrapped around his torso.

“Bethany,” Cullen interrupted cautiously. “Bethany, you should really...”

“Please. Please, just a bit longer, Ser Cullen. Just a bit.” She looked at him, her brown eyes like liquid, and he relented, his mouth folding into a frown of sympathy.

“That’s almost as effective on him as is on me,” Varric murmured. He sighed. “Is there anything I can do for you, Sunshine? Anything I can send?”

She thought for a moment. “Well, I was wondering if... if there’s anything of Mother’s I can have? Anything at all? Even a picture of her will do.”

“I’m sure there is. I’ll talk to big sister when she’s up to it and see what we can do,” he promised. “I’ll commission a portrait if that’s what’s needed.”

“Thank you, Varric. That’s sweet of you. I would carry something from each and every one of you if I could.”

That made him pause. Almost instinctively, his hand dove into his pocket in search of whatever might be there. “It’s not much, but... it’s something, I guess,” he said, pulling out - of all things - his gold-plated noble caste pin. “The elf thought I was kidding when I told him I deliberately misplaced this. Not sure how it ended up in here, but maybe you’re the reason why it did.” He took her hand and closed her fingers around it. “Probably not compliant with Circle regulations, so keep it hidden.”

“I will.” She nodded, and the look in her eyes betrayed how much the little gift meant to her. “Thank you.” She ran her fingers over it before hiding it away. After a moment of contemplation, she added softly. “I miss you.”

Varric honestly wasn’t sure if that was a singular or a plural _you_. He decided it didn’t matter. “I miss you too. I only have one Sunshine.”

“And I only have one favorite dwarf.” She smiled, feeling like some of the darkness that had threatened to consume her was lifted slightly, and squeezed his hand.

“Well, I should certainly hope so.” He pressed her hand between both of his. “Think you can manage some sleep now?”

She nodded slightly. “I think so, maybe. I’ll try at least. I’m so grateful you came, Varric. Thank you.”

“They still let you walk around the Gallows courtyard a couple times a week? Out where the vendor stalls are?”

“Of course. I get plenty of books from there. Well, besides the ones Isabela sends, that is.”

“The less I think about you reading books Isabela gives you, the happier I’ll be,” he retorted with a smile. “All right. Let’s see if we can’t run into you out there more often. Every Tuesday, at least.”

“I’d like that very much.” She beamed. “They watch us when we’re out there, of course, so I probably won’t be able to touch you or talk to any of you very long, but I can see you. That will be enough.”

He scowled, briefly. “It shouldn’t have to be enough, but we’ll make do. And I’ll make sure you get that memento of your mother. Come on… I don’t want to leave but I guess I’d better.”

She sighed. “Yes, probably. I don’t want you to go either, but I’m just glad you were able to come at all. I don’t think anyone else would have let you.” She threw her arms around him in a tight embrace.

“It’s gonna be okay, Sunshine. As okay as I can make it, anyway,” he promised. “Your mother was proud of you and she loved you a lot; hold onto that.”

“I will,” she said as she rested her chin on his shoulder, hating that she had to let go. But she did, pulling away and briefly resting her hand on his cheek. “I’ll... I’ll see you later, then.”

“That’s my girl. Go on.” Varric kept his face pleasantly neutral until she was out of sight, then he glanced at Cullen. “I appreciate this.”

Cullen nodded slightly. “I know it wasn’t much, but if it helped even a little...”

There was a pause. “Look,” said Varric finally, “I don’t know what your deal is, what it is that you’d want. I’ll pay; name your price. But by all that’s holy, make sure _nothing_ happens to that girl. Her sister couldn’t stand it.” More quietly, he added, “Neither could I.”

The Templar’s eyes widened and after a beat, he quickly shook his head. “I don’t want anything. I don’t... it’s fine,” he said hastily. “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure she’s all right. I’ll look out for her. You have my word, if that’s worth anything.”

“It wouldn’t be, from most of the other Templars I’ve met.” Varric pondered that. “But from you I think it actually might mean something. I’m not asking you to give her special treatment - I’m not stupid - I just need to know she’s all right. She and the dog are all the family Hawke has now, not counting that useless uncle in Lowtown. And they’re all _I_ have.”

“I understand. I’ll look out for her,” he repeated. “And if I can arrange things like this again...” He gestured to the courtyard to indicate the meeting that had just taken place. “Well, I’ll certainly try to do so.”

“Thanks. Hopefully it won’t be so urgently needed.” Varric sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll let you get back to your post. I know you said you don’t want anything, but... you ever drop in at the Hanged Man, give my name to the barman.”

A tiny surprised smile crawled across Cullen’s features. “Thank you. I appreciate that. And... please give my sympathies to Hawke.”

“I’ll do that. Thanks.”

 


End file.
